Kellogg's has decided to bring back the cookie that everyone always thought of as an Oreo also-ran. The reason? An online petition that was signed by a whopping 1,000 people. They also received 1,300 phone calls.

Now, maybe I'm crazy, but that doesn't sound like enough of a fan base to bring back a product. Unless these people realllly like their Hydrox, it seems unlikely that they will buy enough cookies to justify the re-release. This year is the 100th anniversary of Hydrox's introduction in 1908, so maybe that's another reason. The cookies will only be sold for "a limited time" beginning in August, although if sales are good one imagines the cookie will stick around for a while.

As it turns out, Hydrox was introduced 4 years before Oreos, which makes one wonder why Sunshine Biscuits Co. (since absorbed by Kellogg) didn't go the Mattel route and attempt to sue Nabisco into oblivion. (Maybe lawsuits weren't so popular in the early part of the 20th century. Or maybe they did sue, and they lost.)

Back in the day, one of Hydrox's main attractions was that the filling was made without lard, rendering it Kosher (literally), and also Vegan-friendly. According to this site, Oreo no longer uses pig fat. That's too bad, since that could've made for a great marketing campaign.  Hook up with PETA, tap into the no-animal-products snack food base, get Pam Anderson to do the ads, wearing nothing except a thin coating of cookies... Now they'll have to rely on that gigantic 1,000 strong fan base.

image: What on Earth?!